In 1967, during the early thaw of Catholic-Jewish relations, Rabbi Irving "Yitz"
Greenberg addressed a Catholic audience about
the conflicting Messiah beliefs. The Orthodox rabbi noted that one difference
between Jews and Catholic is whether the Messiah
is coming for the first or second time. Christians believe the Messiah - a Jew
from Nazareth called Jesus - came 2,000 years ago, and after dying and being
resurrected, will someday return to redeem the world. Jews say the Messiah has
yet to arrive - a belief that led to centuries of Christian anti-Semitism and
killings of Jews who refused to accept the Christian view.

Rabbi Greenberg suggested the dispute be tabled until the Messiah arrives. When
the Messiah comes, Jews and Christians "can ask him if this is his first
coming or his second," finally putting the issue to rest.

But this week, the Messiah debate suddenly took center stage in Jewish-Catholic
relations, in an appropriately bizarre and mysterious manner. It follows the
revelation last week that the Vatican's top biblical scholars recently issued
a report that for the first time in nearly 2,000 years apparently validates
as legitimate the Jewish wait for the Messiah.

A 210-page document titled "The Jewish People and the Holy Scriptures in
the Christian Bible," by the Pontifical Biblical
Commission and authorized by the Vatican's top theologian, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger,
reportedly states that "the Jewish messianic wait is not in vain."
It reportedly says Jews and Christians share their wait for the Messiah, although
Jews are waiting for the first coming and Christians for the second. The new
document also reportedly contains an apology to the Jewish people for anti-Semitic
passages contained in the New Testament, and also stresses the continuing importance
of the Torah for Christians. (AMAZING !?!)

How that declaration squares with the new "Messiah document" was a
source of much speculation this week. But Fisher contended it's a major positive
development. "If you put off the moment that Jews will come to recognize
Jesus as the Messiah until the end of time, then we don't need to work or pray
for the conversion of Jews to Christianity," he said. "God already
has the salvation of Jews figured out, and they accepted it on Sinai, so they
are OK."

"Jews are already with the Father," he continued. "We do not
have a mission to the Jews, but only a mission with the Jews to the
world. The Catholic Church will never again sanction an organization devoted
to the conversion of the Jews. That is over, on doctrinal, biblical and pastoral
grounds. Finito."

Signer, also a Reform rabbi said, "What's really new is the validation
of the Jewish position as truth, that the Jewish waiting for the Messiah is
a correct theological viewpoint. If the document says what we think, it is another
very important theological step in the respect for Judaism as a living tradition."

"It's a very important, critical statement," said Rabbi Jack Bemporad,
head of the Center for Interreligious Understanding. "Up until now they
were saying Jews are completely and absolutely wrong and we are waiting in vain
and blind to the truth."

Others were more cautious, noting continued significant differences in Messiah
beliefs - particularly that Christians believe that their Messiah is Jesus who
is also God, while for Jews the Messiah is not a divine being and cannot be
Jesus because he died before bringing the redemption.

Rabbi James Rudin, senior interreligious adviser to the American Jewish Committee,
raised several concerns. "Does the new book
instruct Catholics to fully accept the fact there is not only theological space
in God's universe for Jews/Judaism, but they must also affirm that the identity
of long awaited Messiah, so ardently prayed for by Jews for centuries, is unknown
and will remain unknown until the Messiah appears?" he asked. "That
is a clear affirmation of Judaism with no theological strings attached, no Jesus
waiting for Jews at the end of the theological day. If this is the book's message,
then it is an important step forward on the part of the Catholic Church."

Father Pawlikowski stressed that the new document also appears to affirm the
importance of the "Jewish Bible," a new term for the Vatican that
he said would be highly significant if it replaces the traditional "Old
Testament," which has a negative implication
as being replaced by the "New Testament." "The document seems
to say that Christians should never deprecate or see the Jewish
Bible as inferior, which coming from major Vatican biblical scholars could have
profound implications for Catholic religious and educational material,"
Father Pawlikowski said.